The authors hypothesized that the placement of the interspinous implant would show a similar clinical outcome to the posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) in patients having spinal stenosis with mild segmental instability and that this method would be superior to PLIF without significantly affecting degeneration at the adjacent segments. Forty two adult patients having degenerative spinal st...

STUDY DESIGN Retrospective study. OBJECTIVE To analyze the various anatomical parameters that influence segmental stability in patients suffering from lumbar intra spinal cysts (LISCs) and to determine the outcome of microscopic unilateral laminotomy and cystectomy. METHODS All patients that were surgically managed for a LISC between 2007 and 2013 with more than 3 years of follow-up were re...

STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional study. PURPOSE To investigate the relationship between ligamentum flavum (LF) thickening and lumbar segmental instability and disc degeneration and facet joint osteoarthritis. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE Posterior spinal structures, including LF thickness, play a major role in lumbar spinal canal stenosis pathogenesis. The cause of LF thickening is multifactorial and...

We report five children who presented at the mean age of 1.5 years (1.1 to 1.9) with a progressive thoracolumbar kyphosis associated with segmental instability and subluxation of the spine at the level above an anteriorly-wedged hypoplastic vertebra at L1 or L2. The spinal deformity appeared to be developmental and not congenital in origin. The anterior wedging of the vertebra may have been sec...

STUDY DESIGN A retrospective study. PURPOSE To assess postoperative bone regrowth at surgical sites after lumbar decompression with >5 years of follow-up. Postoperative preservation of facet joints and segmental spinal instability following surgery were also evaluated. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE Previous reports have documented bone regrowth after conventional laminectomy or laminotomy and seve...

The clinical efficacy of reduction and fusion surgery and the suitable range of fusion-segment were evaluated in 12 pediatric patients treated for high-grade spondylolisthesis. Pre/post-operative clinical and radiological assessments were analyzed. A transient L5 nerve root paralysis was observed in one patient with L5 spondylolisthesis. No degenerative spondylolisthesis or adjacent segmental i...

BACKGROUND The clinical relevance of emboli limited to the segmental or sub-segmental pulmonary arteries and the role of anticoagulation in patients with these conditions remains to be clarified. OBJECTIVES To determine the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of peripheral pulmonary embolism (PE), and in particular, isolated sub-segmental PE (ISSPE). METHODS We reviewed the data...